


appellation

by ewagan



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Character Study, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-23
Updated: 2016-09-23
Packaged: 2018-08-14 16:58:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8021827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ewagan/pseuds/ewagan
Summary: (n.)a name or title
Kageyama Tobio has been called many things in his lifetime.





	appellation

**Author's Note:**

> This is a mess and I'm a mess but I tried. I will also admit to not properly having a grasp on Kageyama, so this is a bit of a character study as well as examining the way he forms relationships.

Kageyama Tobio has been called many things in his lifetime.

_Selfish. Prodigy. Inconsiderate. Demanding. Genius. Idiot._

Some of it hurts. Some of them _hurt_ . They are words, but words are weapons that Kageyama does not know how to fight against. He can hear Kunimi’s malcontent, he can hear Kindaichi’s anger. He can hear Oikawa-san, the condescension and the disdain infused into three syllables. _Tobio-chan_. Kageyama does not pretend he can understand why they feel the way they do, because it is difficult for him to understand these things. But he knows when people do not like him, and it becomes increasingly clear that he is not likeable as he progresses through middle school.

The one that hurts the most is the one he earns in his last year of middle school.

_King of the Court._

It is a backhanded compliment, one that acknowledges but also demeans him, and he stands on an emptying court with clenched fists and gritted teeth, too good and still _not good enough._ It sits uneasy at the back of his mind, something he turns over and over as he lies on his bed, tossing a volleyball.

He earns a few more titles in his first year of high school.

_Dumbass. Monster. Freak._

_Friend._

The last one surprises him, but he is also grateful for it. He learns to smile at Hinata, to be sincere in his compliments. It is difficult, but he also learns to express himself better, a fraction more care in the words he says. He learns that also _dumbass_ sometimes means _thank you_ , _one more_ can mean _we can do this_ . That _King of the Court_ means something else coming from Hinata, with none of Tsukishima’s condescension.

He carries _Karasuno_ proudly on his back, the number 9 emblazoned on his jersey and the knowledge he is more than the names people have called him, that he is now part of a team. Their successes are his, together, they sprout from of the concrete that everyone seems to want to bury them in. But they don’t just emerge, they take off and they _soar_.

They are the crows, and Kageyama is just learning that he too, has wings.

 

* * *

 

 

The invitation to join the All Japan Youth camp is an opportunity he seizes, but for all he knows about the other players at the camp, they too, know of him. There is Sakusa from Itachicyama, Broccoli No. 2 from Shinzen (okay, Chigaya), some other faces and names familiar from volleyball magazines. Briefly, he wonders if Oikawa had ever come here before, stood with the giants of his time and _shone_ ; but the thought is lost to a flurry of activity, from registration to orientation and finding the rooms they have been assigned.

It doesn’t take long for them to make it to the volleyball courts, and soon all other thoughts are lost as they are split into teams and a volleyball is in the air. It’s easy to slip into familiar rhythms of a game, just as it is easy to slip into old habits and be reminded again, that this is not Hinata, he cannot set as if he knows best. So he bows his head in apology and tries again and again, and tries to remember the little advice he had gained from Oikawa-san.

 

* * *

 

 

Kageyama Tobio has been called many names during his volleyball career. He’s never been called this before though.

 _Goody two shoes_.

The words ring in his ears, a repeating mantra that accompanies the smack of skin against a volleyball, the squeak of gyms shoes and indistinct yells. He cannot decide if it is a compliment or an insult. At times like this, he misses HInata’s straightforward honesty. Hinata is easy enough to understand, lacking the social subtleties that Tsukishima practices. Kageyama has never quite understood them, but he supposes he cannot expect everyone to possess the same transparent honesty that Hinata does.

But there is practice and soon the words are drowned out by the familiar cries of _one touch!, nice ball, don’t mind_ as the ball soars over the net. They practice in a court that has become familiar to Kageyama in the past week. Kageyama sweats, but he feels it’s easy to slide into a rhythm of the game even though he’s not playing setter. He knows how to move, where to position himself from watching Sawamura-senpai and Asahi-senpai and setting for them. He watches and he waits, the familiar sound of a ball bouncing across the court until the timing is just so, and the ball is in front of him.

In the midst of the smack of the ball hitting the floor and yelling that accompanies winning, Kageyama looks at his hand wonderingly and the skin flushed red from spiking. He loses the thought as his makeshift team yell around him and drag him into their celebrations for winning the last match of the camp.

He is cooling down when Miya-san approaches him, reaching forwards as his muscles protest further strain. It is easy to tense up, because he does not really know Miya-san. He reminds himself that Miya Atsumu is not Oikawa Tooru. Miya-san smiles at him with a sincerity that Oikawa had lacked, but with all the arrogance of someone who knew his abilities. He is easier to engage than Oikawa, who would brush him off with blithe, thoughtless remarks and a smile that bordered on plastic if not outright disdain. Perhaps it is what makes Kageyama ask, helps him find a courage he didn’t know he had lost.

_What did you mean when you called me a “goody two-shoes”?_

_Literally that. Someone who’s diligent. Honest. Obedient._

If one knew what to look for, perhaps they would be able to see the beginnings of a smile in the slight tilt of Kageyama’s mouth. Those are not words people have used to describe him, but Miya-san is open and honest in a way that Kageyama can understand, even though Kageyama is watching him from halfway across the court as he goes to chat with someone else.

He thinks maybe he should ask Miya-san if they could exchange emails later, at lunch. He is not Hinata, who makes friends as easily as he breathes, and it is difficult for Kageyama to build relationships, but he thinks this is one he wants to try for.

 

* * *

 

 

The scenery speeds past on the train ride back, and Kageyama feels strangely contemplative. He’s tired, but Miya’s parting words makes him wonder if they’ll see each other on the court, on opposite sides of the net. It will be a different stage, not friendly matches at a training camp. He’s learned a lot, and he has made some friends, tentative and fragile bonds formed over a mutual love for volleyball. He thinks about the names he has earned and shed, of people who grow and change and transform. He thinks about the name his parents gave him, a wish and a hope for him to fly, to reach heights and to overcome obstacles. He’s still learning, he’ll keep learning. He’s not a hero, not really. But he thinks, one day he will be able to soar on his own wings, after he learns how to fly.

So he digs into his pocket for his phone and finds a little bit of courage, tapping out a brief message.

 

_To: Miya-san_

_Thank you for everything at camp._

\--

[MESSAGE SENT]

**Author's Note:**

> you can hit me up on [twitter](https://twitter.com/ewagan). comments and kudos very much appreciated as always. <3


End file.
